Lemon Pound Cake

5 from 48 ratings

A slice of super moist Lemon Pound Cake with fresh strawberry icing is irresistible, packed with bright lemon flavor from both lemon juice and lemon zest! The easy strawberry glaze gets its gorgeous color from fresh strawberries and makes the lemon taste even more floral!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: Slices

Author: Chef Lindsey

Ingredients

For the Lemon Pound Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
½ cup shortening room temperature
5 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed, please!
1 extra large lemon zested (3/4 teaspoon)

For the Strawberry Icing:

1 cup strawberries at room temperature
½ teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
4 cups powdered sugar divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter very soft but not melted
1 ½ tablespoons light corn syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the lemon pound cake batter:

Preheat the oven to 350°F conventional or 325°F convection (with fan).
Zest the lemon into your sugar. Rub it gently between your fingers to start releasing the oils in the skin. This will draw out more flavor than simply adding it to the batter!
Spray your bundt pan with cooking spray and then dust it with flour, tapping the flour around until every inch is covered. This recipe makes either one large Bundt pan or two large loaf pans.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, shortening and sugar just until the mixture comes together and it is no longer lumpy or clumpy. It will look like a paste.
Add eggs to the mixer bowl, one at a time, beating after each one until just incorporated. Be sure to stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after every few eggs.
Add dry ingredients in three additions alternating with first the lemon juice then the milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix after each addition only until just blended.
Pour batter into prepared pan(s) until they are a little more than ¾ full. There should be 1 inch between the top of the pan and the top of the batter. If you fill more than that, the cake will overflow.
Bake cake in a preheated oven until the tester comes out with a few clinging crumbs. Approximately 55 minutes for a 12 cup Bundt pan and 35 minutes for small pans.
Allow to cool 30 minutes in the pan then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the strawberry icing and ice the cake:

Coarsely chop and hull your strawberries. Add strawberries, ¼ cup powdered sugar, and lemon zest to a food processor. Process until the strawberries are completely pureed.
Using a wooden spoon, press as much of the strawberry mixture through a fine sieve as possible. Discard seeds.
Stir the butter, corn syrup and vanilla extract into the strawberry juice.
Stir the remaining powdered sugar into the strawberry mixture. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of water.
Place cake on a wire rack set over a piece of parchment or in a rimmed baking sheet.
Pour the icing over the cake either in decorative drips or as one smooth coating. It depends on the bundt pan you used. Let the glaze set slightly before transferring to a cake plate or cake stand.

Video

Notes

Yield – 1, 12-15 cup bundt pan, or 2, 1 pound loaf pans

Bundt Pans – Be sure to leave ¾ inch from the top of the bundt pan. Depending on the pan you choose, you might have extra batter. The petal bundt pan that I used in these photos is only a 10 cup bundt, so I had extra which I baked into mini loaves!

Technique - Make sure there is an inch between the batter and the top of your pan or you might have an overflow situation.

Storage – Store cooled lemon pound cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, refrigerated for 10 days or frozen for 2-3 months.

Lemon pound cake recipe adapted from The Plain Chicken.

Strawberry glaze recipe adapted from The All-American Dessert Book by Nancy Baggett.

Nutrition